Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Deciphering the Special Session

From a quick look at the text of the bills signed by the Governor, the legislature appears to have played it safe by reenacting certain of the reforms that were stricken by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in the Douglas decision.

HB1024 is notably missing from the 23 bills showing up as signed by the Governor.  This was the special session bill that addressed summary judgment procedure.  This is speculation on my part, but it appears that the legislature left alone those statutes that were (i) enacted or amended as part of the 2009 tort reform statute and (ii) subsequently amended by the legislature as part of separate legislation.

So my quick reaction is that 12 O.S. 2056 remains a part of the Oklahoma statutes, having been amended and reenacted in 2011, even though the Douglas decision struck down the 2009 CLRA.

For an article on the Governor's approval of 23 special session bills, see: http://journalrecord.com/2013/09/10/fallin-signs-special-session-bills-capitol/

For a list of special session provisions showing last action taken, go here: http://legiscan.com/OK/legislation?sort=asc&order=Last+Action.  Then, look for those "sent to Governor."

Text of measures can be found here: http://www.oklegislature.gov/TextOfMeasures.aspx